Saranda, Albania

Our first port stop on our recent Mediterranean cruise was Saranda, Albania. Saranda is a seaside city on the southern coast of Albania on the Ionian Sea. It was originally a quiet fishing village but has grown into one of Albania's most popular coastal destinations. On a clear day you can see the Greek island of Corfu across the narrow strait. The city has over 300 days of sunshine yearly. A short drive or walk down the shoreline from the cruise terminal is a waterfront promenade with shops, restaurants and other activities for tourists to enjoy.

There are several options for shore excursions from the terminal as well. A short drive away is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Butrint, an extrordinary ancient city with layers of Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian history. You can explore the amphitheater, temples and city walls. Nearby is the famous Blue Eye Spring, also known as Syri i Kalter. It is a natural spring with bubbling turquoise water over 50 meters deep.

For our excursion, we took a guided tour to the Lekuresi Castle and the Kantina e Veres ISAK winery. A short drive to the mountains from the Sarande, the Lekuresi Castle offered gorgeous views of the town Sarande and the Ionian Sea. We had a clear view of our ship and the surrounding mountains.

From the castle we traveled to the Kantina e Veres ISAK winery. The winery is a small family owned winery. They grow their won grapes and other vegetables organically to create their popular wine, olive oil and the traditional Albanian beverage Raki. We had the privilage of a guided tour by the vinyard owner. After the tour we got to taste a small sampling of their local wine and Raki as well as a few snacks before heading back to the cruise terminal.

The tour from the ship was well organized and our tour guide was great. She is a local and knew alot about the history and culture of the town and the nation. Sarande is slowly growing as a tourist destination.

The Sarande port is what is referred to as a "Tender" port. There is not a cruise ship port on the coast, so the ships have to anchor offshore, and they transfer the passengers to the terminal via tender boats. I recommend choosing an excursion through the cruiseline when the port is a "Tender" port. Passengers with cruise operated excursions get priority access to the tender boats off the ship and the excursion transportation picks you up right at the terminal.

We likely would not travel to Albania for an extended land tour the day spent in the port was enjoyable and worth the trip!

Don't miss my next blog on our second port stop Katakolon, Greece!